Pulpo a la gallega

Traditional from the Galician Region in Spain, also seen as tapas sometimes, is a super simple and delicious dish however I decided to go gourmet with it and add some extra steps to refine it a notch or two. If you are not into fine cuisine then you will only need to cook the Octopus until tender, cut into smaller pieces and sprinkle with sea salt, sweet and smoke paprika and a dash of extra virgin olive oil, serve with boiled potatoes or a potato fondant for a simple yet delicious entree.

For the modernised version of Galician-Style Octopus I cooked the Octopus until just tender and then marinated it in a garlic, paprika and olive oil mixture to finish pan-fried to add some caramelisation, in addition to this I decided to attempt some puffed pommes which is a crispy potato garnish and, some other extra elements to play with the balance of the dish, so joining the octopus I made some sofrito espuma, a green olive jam, some crispy chorizo and saffron aioli. Please note this is an experimental dish and it’s the first time I make it, altogether was very nice however I must say my favourite element was the green olive jam as it rounded up the dish with sweet and savoury notes if I had to change anything I wouldn’t bother making the sofrito espuma as it didn’t add much to the dish, and would probably make the chorizo crisps into powder as it felt like they were too many of them adding a very salty note in comparison to octopus. So I will modify the recipe accordingly. Let me know if you like this idea or if you will add or take out anything.

Notes about each element of my Modern Galician-style Octopus

Octopus: I like to buy it fresh, also bought a young Octopus which are not as big or as tough as a large mature octopus, this was tender in 30min, if you decide to go with bigger ones cook until tender this might take 40-50min boiling. To make it even more refined you could opt for baby Octopi and they will be ready in 20 min or so.
Green Olives: Buy pitted green olives, I prefer the large ones you can buy from a deli rather than the canned ones, in either case, they come briny and very salty, make sure you rinse them well before using.
Puffed Pommes: This is one of the most intricate elements of this dish, I strongly recommend using a mandolin, I didn’t and try slicing the potatoes super fine with a knife and had inconsistent results, if the potatoes are not paper-thin they won’t puff up. Use a 5 to 6 cm round cutter for this. Prepare them ahead and fry them just before serving for the best results.
Chorizo crisps: To keep this Spanish inspired I bought Spanish chorizo from the Deli, Chorizo crisps need to be thin as well in order for them to crisps up in the oven, prepare this before the aioli and reserve some of the released oil to add flavour to the aioli. Instead of serving whole crisps as I did in mine, I will recommend crushing them in a blender or food processor to create dust and sprinkle them on top of the dish. Store any remaining ones in an airtight container lined with paper towels.
Saffron aioli: Saffron will add a nice yellow colour, make sure you steep the saffron threads for at least 30 min in the lemon juice. Use a neutral flavoured oil and combine it with a couple of tablespoons of reserved chorizo oil. Mince the garlic very well or use a grater or pound it.